Ways We Were, Ways We Will Be
by LolaLoo
Summary: My interpretation of what Booth and Angela were both thinking at the end of The Girl With The Curl 2x07. BB and slight Hodgela


**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Bones or anything to do with it. That doesn't mean I haven't tried though... **

SPOILERS: This deals with the ending of 'The Girl With The Curl' Season 2 Episode 7.

A/N: Yes, I know I'm meant to be finishing up 'It Don't Matter To The Sun' and prepping the sequel to 'The Man In The Lecture Hall' but I watched The Girl With The Curl the other night and loved it. I was especially struck by the symmetry between the relationships of Angela and Hodgins versus Booth and Brennan. So, this is my interpretation of what Angela and Booth were thinking and how they really feel at the end of the last episode. If you haven't seen it yet, you may not want to read this. If you do, please let me know if you agree with me or think I'm way off target.

* * *

The day had been long and arduous for Angela Montenegro. She had spent the whole time attempting to avoid Jack Hodgins, her favourite bug and slime guy. All because she took her boss's advice and ended up going on a date with the guy.

She strolled in to her office and headed straight for her desk, pausing as she realised that she wasn't alone.

Hodgins got up from the sofa where he'd been waiting, offering up a wide smile as he stared at Angela's back. She couldn't face him as he spoke, a positive tone to his voice.

"We didn't really get a chance to talk today."

Angela just nodded, deciding to admit the truth.

"Yeah, I was avoiding you."

She flinched as he sighed slightly behind her.

_And this is why. I really didn't want to have this conversation._

"That whole swing thing wasn't good enough, right? 'Cos I can do better."

Angela looked back over her shoulder at him, repressing a smile at the memory of their time together the night before. His thoughtfulness, his originality, his touch… She leaned back on the desk, her palms flat against the wood to stop herself from fidgeting with nerves.

"It was perfect."

A flicker of hope sparked in his eyes as he stared at her.

"It was?"

Angela shrugged slightly, her voice quiet.

"It was probably the best date I've ever had."

He grinned at her.

"Really?"

She didn't smile back as she nodded. Hodgins just let out a bark of relieved laughter.

"Great. That's great."

Angela averted her eyes, looking at the floor as he stared at her. Her voice was little more than a low whisper.

"Yeah."

Hodgins frowned as he walked towards her, attempting to bridge the gap they could both feel growing between them.

"That's not great. How can a great date be not great?"

She looked away.

_How can I admit the truth to him, tell him about my stupid little plan? Just do it, Angela. You have to, for both your sakes._

"Because it was supposed to fall flat. That way we'd both know that this wasn't meant to be and we'd go back to the way we were before."

His smile slipped as he looked her straight in the eye.

"But I don't like the way it was before."

_Neither did I, sweetie, neither did I._

"Look, Brennan is my best friend and Zach is.. Well, whatever the hell he is, and when things go wrong… It pulls everybody else in to it. And what the _great_ date tells us is that when it goes wrong -"

He finished the sentence for her.

"It'd go really, really wrong."

Angela nodded, her voice a sad whisper.

"Yeah. So, we go back right?"

He just stared at her and she swallowed hard, trying to drive her point home.

"Friends?"

He nodded, taking a tentative step closer as he searched her eyes.

"Just one question. What if it doesn't end that way? What if it doesn't go wrong?"

She swallowed hard, blinking back tears as she looked at him.

_That's what I've been asking myself all day, over and over. I just don't think I can risk it._

"Friends."

He stared at her, the smile she loved now long gone. In his eyes, she could see the full weight of her words come crashing down on him and she hated herself for it. Eventually he turned away to pick up his bag. All she wanted to do was change her mind, to step forward and grab his arm, keeping him with her as long as possible.

_I don't want him to leave. I don't even really want to end this. It's not even started yet and I'm trying to end it! I'm just… I'm scared. There, I've admitted it. I'm scared. I don't want to lose his friendship and I can't face what would happen when everything falls to pieces. _

But Angela didn't stop him. She didn't make a single move or speak a single word. Neither did Hodgins.

He marched out of her office and all she could do was watch him go, praying that she'd made the right decision.

_oo00oo_

Booth played with the stale donut on the plate in front of him, shaking his head as he discussed the latest case with his partner.

Finding the body of that little girl, an innocent child made up to be over-sexualised and grown-up all too quickly all for some dumb beauty pageants, it was all just so strange to him.

"You know, Bones, I like to think some place deep inside, people really know what's important."

Brennan arched an eyebrow, picking at her food.

"Hard to believe when you see women trying to disguise and change themselves."

Booth smiled slightly, watching her take a bite from the donut.

"Well no, of course you wouldn't."

She was licking the glaze off her fingers, causing Booth's heart to skip a beat, even as she frowned at him.

"Why?"

He was caught in her eyes as he struggled to find the words to explain feelings he had known were there for months, feelings he knew he couldn't yet admit.

"It's just that you, you know, someone who looks like _you_. Well, you wouldn't… Just because of the way you look."

She narrowed her eyes at him, obviously confused.

"I don't understand. What way do I look?"

He smiled, knowing that she truly didn't understand the power those eyes had over him.

_She's just so beautiful and I don't think she even realises it. But it's not just skin-deep. She's beautiful all the way to her bones._

He attempted to explain in terms she would understand without revealing the depths of what he felt.

"Well, you know, you're _structured_ very well."

A smile pulled at her lips as she cast her eyes away, obviously attempting to fight the blush creeping across her cheeks.

_Maybe it really does mean something coming from me, maybe she…_

Brennan flicked her eyes back at him, her smile wide.

"As are you."

He grinned but the sound of footsteps in the lab below caught his attention. Glancing down from the platform, he watched the woman making her way past the workstations.

Cam.

She turned, staring up at him, her eyes inviting.

_Of course they're inviting. We're both thinking the same thing. Even with the awkwardness at work and the regrets in the morning, we're always thinking the same damned thing._

He looked away from his not-so-former partner and back in to the smiling eyes of his real partner, the one he actually wanted to spend his time with, even if it was lacking certain 'benefits'.

He leaned back in his chair with a heavy sigh, staring at the table as he mind raced with the possibilities of what the evening could bring. He noticed Brennan was frowning at him slightly.

"You ok?"

He felt a tight smile on his lips as he struggled to find an excuse.

"Yeah. I just, I just…"

He sighed, shrugging a little.

"I just remembered that I have an appointment."

_And it just so happens to be with your boss… Again…_

He got to his feet, grabbing his jacket off the back of the chair. Looking at Brennan, he noticed a slight hint of a disappointment in her eyes.

"Oh so, erm, I'll see you tomorrow?"

Booth stared down at her with a guilty sigh before his eyes were drawn back to Cam waiting below, a slow smile spreading across her face. She walked away and he suddenly realised that he didn't want to go after her, no matter what the 'benefits' of doing that might be.

_She's not the one I want to follow. She never was and she never will be, not really._

He turned his attention back to Brennan who was still staring at him, chewing her lower lip a little as she waited for his answer. He had made his decision.

"No, you have all the paperwork from the case, right?"

He dropped his jacket back on the chair as Temperance pulled their latest file across the table towards her.

"No, I was going to stay and do it anyway so…"

He shook his head.

_You're not getting rid of me that easily, Bones. If anything, you're stopping me from repeating the same old mistake I always do._

"No, it's _our_ case. I wanna help."

She smiled at him thankfully, her voice tinged with amusement.

"You don't have to, Booth."

He raised a hand through the air to silence any more objections.

"Bones, just drop it, ok?"

He lowered his voice so the timbre reverberated in his chest, putting on his best macho man style.

"I'm here to help."

She offered him a slow smile.

"What about your appointment?"

He raised his eyebrows.

_Dealing with the wrath of Cam is definitely going to be… interesting. But it was only ever meant to be a one-night thing, nothing more, just a release that we both needed. Now it's becoming dangerously close to a regular occurrence and, well, she's not what I want. I should have stopped it before it even started._

"Uh, it's no big deal. I tell you what…"

He laid his fists on the table, leaning in closer and closer as he spoke.

"How about I order some takeout and I ditch these donuts?"

She smiled up at him and he realised just how close they were to one another. They were right in each other's faces, their noses almost touching, and it wasn't weird or uncomfortable. This was who they were and they both knew it, both needed that company that the other provided.

_It's not weird because it's Bones. We're always up in each other's faces. It's not uncomfortable because we're always in each other's personal space. And I love that because I love being close to her._

Brennan's smile grew in to a grin as she nodded her agreement.

"Sure."

Booth grinned right back at her. In unison, they stated their choice of takeout.

"Thai food…"

They both laughed a little at their synchronicity, neither moving away and neither wanting to. They were caught in each other's gaze, seeing possibilities there that neither could quite address. Not yet. Not for fear of what might be lost, where it might lead.

Booth's smile slipped a little.

"Though this time I'm ordering extra meat crab cos you ate it all last time."

He pointed an accusatory finger at her as she let out an indignant gasp.

"What? I thought you were done!"

He straightened up a little, relishing the familiar banter that was about to start all over again.

"Woah, thought _I _was done?"

"Yeah!"

"You finished all of it!"

He seated himself back down beside her, pulling out his cell phone as she continued to complain.

"I did not. _You_ were pretty focused on the fried rice."

He rolled his eyes to himself dramatically.

"Can we just order?"

She relented a little, leaning back in her chair.

"Fine…"

The bickering continued as Booth dialled the number for the Thai restaurant they'd discovered together. The cell to his ear, he watched her as she continued talking, oblivious to the fact that he was on the phone.

This was the way things were supposed to be. This was how things were between them and he loved it.

_One day I might finally find the courage to change all this, to make things different. Maybe I'll help get us to a place where we realise that we didn't really like the way things were before, that the new place, the place of me and Bones being partners in every sense of the word, that would be better._

Even though he loved the way things were, he couldn't help but think of the way that things could be, knowing he'd love that even more.


End file.
